These pages do not begin to cover all the disasters that have
taken place in every state. There is also controversy over
what constitutes and defines a "great" disaster from any other kind.
All disasters are "great" to those directly involved in them.

So
these pages are a mix of "great" and "not so great" disasters.
The major disasters are all covered in the larger sites I have
linked to as resources and the rest are related items of interest.

For example, you might not find a particular major disaster on
this list, but it will be included in a site such as gendisasters.com, which is one of the resources found here.

This is an excellent place to begin your research. The
links found here lead to an ever widening amount of information.
Good luck in your efforts.

Aeroméxico Flight 498 plane collided with Piper Navajo __
"The two aircraft collided in mid-air over Cerritos, California, killing all
67 aboard both aircraft and 15 people on the ground." An encyclopedic
article. - From wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerom%C3%A9xico_Flight_498

Argonaut Mine __ "The Argonaut Mine is a gold mine in
Jackson, California, United States. It was discovered in 1850 and was the
site of the worst gold-mining disaster in the state's history." An
encyclopedic article. - From wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonaut_Mine

Cedar Fire Disaster __ "The Cedar Fire was the second largest wildfire in
the history of the state of California. San Diego County's Cedar Fire burned
over 280,000 acres destroying 2,232 homes and killing 14 (including one
firefighter)." - illustrated - From about.com -
http://forestry.about.com/od/forestfire/ss/top_fires_na.htm

FEMA: California State Disaster History __ "California
Disaster History. Major Disaster Declarations..." Click on the 'disaster #'
on the right side of the list to access detailed information including
images and more. - illustrated - From FEMA -
http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters_state.fema?id=6

Glendale train crash __ "The Glendale train crash was the
deadliest incident in the history of Metrolink, the commuter railroad in the
Los Angeles, California, area." an encyclopedic article. - illustrated -
From wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendale_train_crash

The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake __ "At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906,
the people of San Francisco were awakened by an earthquake that would
devastate the city. The main temblor, having a 7.7–7.9 magnitude, lasted
about one minute and was the result of the rupturing of the northernmost 296
miles of the 800-mile San Andreas fault." A fairly comprehensive look. -
illustrated - From infoplease.com -
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/sanfran1906earthquake.html

The Port Chicago Disaster __ "On the night of 17th July 1944, two transport
vessels loading ammunition at the Port Chicago (California) naval base on
the Sacramento River were suddenly engulfed in a gigantic explosion." Learn
about the aftermath and the mutiny. - From ezl.com/~fireball -
http://www.ezl.com/~fireball/Disaster22.htm

PSA 727 Crashes Into San Diego After Collision __ "...a
Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) 727 with 127 passengers and seven crew hit
a Cessna 172 on approach to Lindbergh Airport in San Diego. Both aircraft
fell into the North Park area of the city. All 135 on the PSA plane and both
on board the Cessna were killed on impact as were seven on the ground." An
overview. - From super70s.com -
http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Tech/Aviation/Disasters/78-09-25(PSA).asp

PSA Flight 182 __ "The death toll of 144 makes it the deadliest aircraft
disaster in California history to date, and it was the first Pacific
Southwest Airlines incident involving fatalities." An encyclopedic article -
From wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSA_Flight_182